SDSU launches fundraising for Indoor Facility

BROOKINGS,
S.D. - South Dakota State University today announced leadership investments
totaling $18 million for the university's planned Indoor Practice and Human
Performance Athletic Facility. Sanford Health has agreed
in principle to provide $10 million, while another $8 million has been
committed by anonymous donors.

The overall
project is estimated to cost $24 million to $28 million. Construction of the
facility is planned to begin in the spring of 2013, subject to successfully
raising the additional funds and final approval through the South Dakota Board
of Regents' capital project process. The university received approval from the
regents for preliminary planning of the facility in June 2011.

The Sanford Health
partnership provides the foundation for a facility that will serve more than
450 student-athletes and will be constructed north of Coughlin-Alumni Stadium, adjacent
to the Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center. The facility will provide indoor
practice space for intercollegiate athletic teams, state-of-the-art areas for sports
medicine, and strength and conditioning facilities.

The partnership
establishes a framework for broader collaboration in mutual areas of interest
such as exercise science, nutrition and human
performance, injury prevention and evidence-based injury treatment and rehabilitation,
according to university President David Chicoine.

"The
partnership enables a deeper collaboration between our university and Sanford
Health," Chicoine said. "There is significant potential with this partnership
to enrich our university and to impact many disciplines. This first-class
facility will support our student-athletes with practice space, training areas
and health-care services, allowing them to pursue their dreams and excel in the
classroom and in athletic competition."

As
part of the partnership, Sanford Health will become the exclusive provider of
sports medicine services for Jackrabbit Athletics for the next 10 years,
offering board-certified and fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeons and primary
care physicians, and experts with the National Institute for Athletic Health
& Performance at Sanford Health.

According
to Kelby Krabbenhoft, president and CEO of Sanford Health, Sanford Health has a
strong history of working with athletic programs from high school to
professional levels. Partnering with universities like SDSU yields major returns
on the health system's investments in students.

"We
are proud to align with SDSU, and the investment we have made toward the
construction of this new facility is the first step in our long-term commitment
to the championship excellence the university has put into motion," Krabbenhoft
said. "Sanford Health provides a blanket of support to dozens of schools and
thousands of student-athletes like none other in the nation. The ability to
provide customized service and coverage to SDSU and all our partner schools
will yield incredible collective insights and support from the combined
knowledge and resources we bring to bear. This is the result of region-wide
potential of the nutrition, safety, physical performance and research gained
from this well organized effort in sports medicine. That means better care for
the student-athlete, and incredible resources during the season and also in the
off-season."

The
planned facility would include an eight-lane, 300-meter track and 100 yards of
synthetic turf, along with space for sports medicine, athletic training,
strength and conditioning, physical therapy, hydrotherapy, observation rooms and
office facilities.

According
to Director of Athletics Justin Sell, the facility supports the athletic
department's mission to develop lifelong champions and will have a positive
impact on the university for decades to come.

"The
Indoor Practice and Human Performance Facility will have the greatest impact on
our student- athletes. It is a game-changing opportunity to build a facility
that will benefit the university for the next 50 years," Sell said. "The demands
put on student-athletes today create the need for high-quality practice and
support facilities that allow our student-athletes the opportunity to compete and
excel at the highest levels. There is a tremendous need for this facility and
we are pleased to be partnering with a leading health care provider like
Sanford Health."

The
project will be funded by donors as part of SDSU's comprehensive campaign: It Starts with STATE:A Campaign for South Dakota State University.
The $200 million campaign, under the direction of the SDSU Foundation, provides
faculty endowments, student scholarships and facility improvements. To date,
the campaign has assisted in the building of the Avera Health and Science
Center, Daktronics Engineering Hall, Davis Dairy Plant, Dykhouse
Student-Athlete Center and the McCrory Gardens Education and Visitor Center.

About
South Dakota State University
Founded in 1881, South Dakota State University is the state's
Morrill Act land-grant institution as well as its largest, most comprehensive
school of higher education. SDSU confers degrees from eight different colleges
representing more than 175 majors, minors and specializations. The institution
also offers 29 master's degree programs, 12 Ph.D. and two professional
programs.

The work of the university is carried out on a residential campus
in Brookings, at sites in Sioux Falls, Pierre and Rapid City, and through
Cooperative Extension offices and Agricultural Experiment Station research
sites across the state.

About Sanford Health
Sanford
Health is an integrated health system headquartered in Fargo, N.D. and Sioux
Falls, S.D. and consists of two long-standing organizations that merged in
2009. Sanford is now the largest, rural, not-for-profit health care system in
the nation with locations in 126 communities in seven states. In addition,
Sanford Health is in the process of developing international clinics in
Ireland, Ghana, Israel and Mexico.

Sanford Health includes 35 hospitals, 140 clinic
locations and nearly 1,200 physicians in 70 specialty areas of medicine. With
more than 25,000 employees, Sanford Health is the largest employer in North and
South Dakota. The system is experiencing dynamic growth and development in
conjunction with Denny Sanford's $400 million gift in 2007, the
largest gift ever to a health care organization in America, and then a
$100 million gift in 2010. These gifts are making possible the
implementation of the several initiatives including global children's clinics,
multiple research centers and finding a cure for type 1 diabetes and breast
cancer. For more information, please visit sanfordhealth.org.